


clear eyes, full hearts

by ashotoflife



Category: SKAM Austin
Genre: F/M, FNL inspired, Slow Burn, at least for now, for the purposes of this fic kelsey is a heartless bitch, kelsey and daniel are together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-05-28 07:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19389790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashotoflife/pseuds/ashotoflife
Summary: the one with the football player and the cheerleader(because everybody appreciates a good cliché)





	1. Not Very Flattering

**Author's Note:**

> FNL inspired. I was going to write the whole thing and just make it one really long chapter but it was getting really big so I've decided to split it into chapters. I already have like 4 or 5 chapters done so it should be updated fairly regularly- probably about twice a week. I hope you enjoy it :)

“Meg- I just got home, I’ll try it on and send you a pic in a second, let me just get in the door” Grace said laughing over facetime as she headed up her front steps. 

“You said they’re cute right-"

“Yes, Megan. That is what I said.”

“‘Cause after this crap day, I deserve cute uniforms” Megan continued ignoring Grace’s affirmation. Grace paused, key already in lock and looked down at her phone screen with a pitying expression. 

“You feeling any better?” Grace asked. She felt bad that Megan had to miss out on the first practice of the season, especially since Kelsey was sure to say something about it tomorrow, but it’s not like it was Megan’s fault that the mystery in mystery meatloaf had been food poisoning. 

“Mmm” Megan shrugged noncommittally. 

Grace unlocked the door to her house while holding Megan up in her other hand and using her feet to kick in the cheer bag on the ground. 

“Well cheer up sad girl, because you’ll never have to dance in ghastly mustard yellow again.”

“You’re lucky you never had to try to make that work and with your skintone . . .” she trailed off, the implication of her silence ringing loud and clear.

“Hey!” Grace looked down at her phone, offended but pleased Megan was well enough to crack jokes. “I totally rock yellow.” Even so, Grace was glad the cheerleading squad was undergoing its makeover when she arrived on the scene, because, if there is one thing Grace will never be caught doing, it’s wearing a cowboy hat to a football game. Sure, she joined cheerleading since moving here but that was about as far as her Texas pride would take her and that was more a matter of happenstance since all the friends she had made upon arriving last spring were on the squad. 

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.”

Grace had finally made it into her room, juggling her backpack, her cheerbag and her phone and was about to give a snarky reply when she heard a distinctly male, distinctly young voice call in the background “hey Megan!” 

Megan turned towards the sound of the voice. “One sec! I’m on the phone with Grace.”

“Who is that?”

“Marlon.” Grace’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “He’s just been taking care of me.”

“Oh, he’s been _taking care_ of you.” Grace gave a suggestive look and Megan’s eye roll could be felt through the screen. 

“It’s not like that. He just came by to bring me some ginger ale and saltines” Grace tried to mask her shock. Marlon acting the part of the doting boyfriend when he couldn’t do that when they were actually in a relationship? Stranger things had happened she supposed.

“Well, that’s nice.”

“Yeah, he’s being really sweet.” Before Grace could respond, Marlon called again “Hey Megan-”

“I’m coming!” Megan yelled back before turning to the camera. “I should go, be sure to text me the pics”

“Will do” Grace replied as her friend ended the call. 

Grace lifted her cheer bag onto her bed and opened it up to reveal two new blue uniforms neatly folded inside. She checked the tags before pulling out the one in her size and laid it out flat so she could examine it. It was a royal blue pleated skirt and a form fitting shell with a slight v neck. “Kittens” was written across the bust in white lettering which frankly Grace didn’t really understand considering Bouldin High’s mascot was the panthers but the cheer squad seemed really bent on this whole ‘kittens’ thing. Didn’t really seem like school spirit but Grace wasn’t one to cause a fit over a uniform, that was Kelsey’s job. Fortunately, Kelsey had been thrilled with the uniforms. She liked the “tradition” of them. Something about how pleats were more feminine. Grace wasn’t entirely sure. The whole thing seemed highly regressive, but, with all of her friends already on the squad and an activity that could serve as a solid excuse to avoid being home, it just made sense for her to join as well. 

Grace was still in her practice clothes- a tank top and nike pros so she pulled the skirt over her spandex and quickly removed her tank top before pulling the shell over her head. She adjusted her uniform as she moved to face the mirror.

She liked it. It looked, well, Kelsey was right, it was cute. Really cute. Grace couldn’t help the smile that was slowly lighting up her face. She gave it a small twirl and a giggle escaped her as the pleats swished back and forth. 

_Freakin’ hell, you’re gorgeous_

His words popped into her head without warning and she quickly tried to shake them. Daniel Williamson, Mr. Varsity himself had said that to her shortly after she’d reamed him out for flirting with other girls while being in a relationship with Kelsey. He was probably just trying to rile her up or maybe thought she’d fall for his bullshit like everyone else but Grace saw right through him. However, that didn’t stop her from thinking about it every once in a while: Daniel looking at her like he actually saw her with his dumb hair and his stupid smirk calling her “gorgeous” as if it was old news. 

The front door opened and Grace looked down at her watch. She hadn’t realized how late it was.

“Grace, hon!” her mom called as she made her way inside. Grace hesitated to answer. She hadn’t got a chance to take her uniform off yet. 

“Grace, you home?” her mom called out again as she headed down the hall to Grace’s room. Her mom popped her head into the room. 

“Grace, did you drop that package off like I- oh” Grace braced herself. “That’s your uniform?”

“Yeah,” Grace smiled a little. “We just got them today.”

“They’re not very flattering, are they?” Grace blinked. “Did you drop the package off at the post office like I asked you to?”

“Uh, yeah. I did it during lunch.”

“Okay good.” Her mom looked down at her watch. “Well, I’m already running late to meet Charlotte and Gladys for drinks. Don’t wait up.”

“Okay” Grace said, kind of relieved. She’d rather her mom not be home when her dad returned from work. They couldn’t fight if they weren’t in the same place. 

“And, hon, when your father gets home, can you remind him that the trash doesn’t put itself out. Useless that man, I swear.”

“Will do, mom” Grace muttered as she looked down at her feet, still clad in her white cheer shoes. Her mom left then to go change out of her work clothes.

Grace turned to look back into the mirror. Her earlier excitement vanished. In lieu of Daniel’s low voice assuring her she was gorgeous, instead she heard the disinterested pitched tone of her mother. Grace quickly took off the uniform and decided she could just take a picture of it laid out on her bed and send that to Megan instead. 

She actively avoided her reflection for the rest of the night. 


	2. Locker Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me a hot minute to post. I totally scrapped the first draft for this because it sucked.

Daniel slammed open the door into the school on his way back from practice. He had tried to keep his cool after Coach promptly tore him a new one during practice, but honestly all he could fucking think about was hitting something. Or someone. Two someones really. It’s not even like he couldn’t handle being screamed at. His mother wasn’t exactly a happy drunk and his dad only actually ever spoke to him when he was yelling but today really just hadn’t been his day. Daniel pressed the home button of his phone again so he could reread the message his father had sent him right as school was ending. 

_ Have to stay in NY a little longer. Sorry I won’t be able to make the first game. _

It was fucking stupid. Daniel knew it. To let something as totally expected as that get to him, distract him- fucking his game up during the all important Thursday practice. But here he was, doing exactly that.  _ Such an idiot. _ Truthfully, Daniel didn’t even need anything at his locker. He just wasn’t in a good enough headspace to hang around and talk to the guys after Coach called it a day so he made up some bullshit about forgetting a textbook and ran off into the school. He was gonna just walk around a bit and cool down but since he’d already committed to going back into the school, he figured he could at least drop off some of the work he knew he wasn’t gonna bother doing tonight. With the first game of the season tomorrow and the entire school counting on him there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was gonna attempt wrapping his head around pre-calc tonight. 

When Daniel turned the corner, he faltered in his stride. There was a girl standing in front of his locker. Curly brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail, slim figure donning a cheerleading uniform. 

_ Grace Olsen. _

And just like that all of Daniel’s stress and anger seemed to seep out of him. 

“Have you really resorted to holding vigil at my lockerside.” Grace tensed at the sound of his voice before turning to him, crossing her arms in front of her. Daniel didn’t fail to notice the white lettering across the front of the new uniform. “You know if you wanted to see me, kitten, all you had to do was ask.” She made a big show of rolling her eyes.

“First of all, never call me that again. Second,” Grace stepped one foot over to the right so she was no longer standing in front of his locker. “I was merely leaving you this.”  _ This _ being a goodie bag tied to his locker with brownies in it. 

“You shouldn’t have” Daniel teased as he moved over and yanked the bag off the lock Grace had meticulously tied it around. They looked pretty good actually. It had been a running joke amongst the football players for years that the cheerleaders should do everyone a favor and start baking for the hockey team instead- they could use the extra pucks after all. But these? These looked soft and a little gooey. Just the sort of thing Daniel shouldn’t eat before a game. He was now admittedly invading Grace’s personal space a little. But, hey, she was the one lingering around  _ his _ locker. 

“I didn’t. They’re from the cheerleaders.” Grace shuffled her feet a little and looked down at her bright white shoes before tacking on “Kelsey made them.” Daniel eyed her suspiciously. Sure, Daniel wasn’t the most attentive boyfriend but spend a few months dating (hooking up with, whatever the hell you wanted to call it) an aspiring homemaker and you learn pretty quickly if she can or can’t bake. Kelsey, for one, could not. 

“Anyway, brownies delivered. Job done. Pleasure as always Donald.” Grace made to move around him but he quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Grace crossed her arms in front of her again and leaned back slightly, tilting her chin up to look at him. 

“Something you want?” she quirked an eyebrow. Daniel looked at her for a moment, taking her in. Short skirt, tight top. Just a sliver of skin could be seen peeking out between the hem of her top and waistband of her skirt and  _ fuck _ he wanted to run his fingers along the space. Daniel bit down on his lower lip. This just wasn’t fair he decided. Grace Olsen standing in front of his locker with her cute ponytail, her self-righteous attitude and the sweetest little cheerleading uniform to boot. God was testing him. He was sure of it. 

“Nothin’ Just wanted to get a good look at you in the new uniform.” He expected her to call him a gross pig or, at the very least, scoff. But instead-

“Well there’s not much to see.” Daniel wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the careless self-deprecation: Grace or him. Realizing what she’d said, Grace refused to look at him as she flushed in embarrassment at her own self-exposure. She opened her mouth as if to take it back or amend it but closed it again, coming up blank. Daniel just looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise.  _ Was she serious? She can’t be serious.  _

“What do you me-” Daniel began before Grace quickly cut him off. 

“I gotta go.” She grabbed her cheerbag off the ground tossing it over her shoulder but Daniel reached out and grabbed her arm before she could scurry off. He lightly pushed her back so she was up against the lockers. Daniel moved more squarely in front of her, concern etched into his features. 

“Grace,” she looked up at him. Her eyes wide. There was a hopeless vulnerability about her, like whatever Daniel said next might break her. “That’s bullshit. You are so fucking beautiful”  _ it kills me. _ Grace’s mouth opened in surprised as she blinked up at him. She’d looked a lot like that when he’d told her last year, right before summer began, that she was gorgeous. At the time he’d figured she hadn’t expected him to be so forward. Now he realized that maybe she’d looked at him like that because she didn’t believe the words. Grace’s eyes flitted to his lips but it was so quick he nearly missed it. She swallowed as she averted her gaze. 

“I should go.” This time when she made to walk around him Daniel didn’t stop her. He was still trying to process that Grace might not see what he saw. He was still trying to process that Grace, of all people, might have possibly- nay- most definitely looked at his lips. Daniel shook his head before looking back just in time to see her turn the corner, her ponytail swinging behind her. 

Daniel’s phone pinged, pulling him from his muddled thoughts. It was his dad. 

_ I’ll make the next one. Promise. _

Daniel ran his fingers through his air as he released a loud sigh.


	3. Southern Gentleman BS

Daniel was unstoppable. 

He was on fire the whole night; calling play after play, throwing pass after pass. He had a sense of gravitas and authority on the field that drew people’s attention to him and firmly established him as the leader. Grace found herself incapable of looking away anytime the cheerleaders were turned in the direction of the game. 

Grace hadn’t been totally sure what to expect during her first football game but even she wasn't immune to the infectious energy emanating from the crowd and was occasionally so enthralled by what was going on on the field that she forgot to pay attention to her sidelines. It had been a good night overall with the excitement consistently high through first, second and third quarter. Much to Kelsey’s pleasure, the halftime routine went off without a hitch. 

When time finally ran out in the fourth quarter, the Bouldin High Panthers were beating the Westwood Cardinals 42 to 13. The cheer squad performed the alma mater as the Panthers and Cardinals shook hands down the middle of the field with Daniel at the head of the lineup.

Kelsey turned to the squad after the band finished.

“Great job everyone! Super awesome. Coach said the halftime routine looked great so I’m just gonna review the video and then on Monday if there’s any small things we need to smooth out we’ll do that. But other than that, we’re done for the night! There’s gonna be a little celebration over at Daniel’s for anyone that wants to come.” Win or lose the captain throwing a bash after the first game of the season was apparently tradition. Technically all the cheerleaders were invited but the thought of watching Kelsey drape herself over Daniel all night made Grace’s stomach turn. Not to mention that now that the adrenaline rush from tonight was finally starting to leave her, exhaustion was taking its place. 

“Oh! There they come!” Kelsey shrieked excitedly as the football players finally began to make their way off the field, jogging at a clipped pace in the direction of the locker room. Daniel was leading the pack and as they passed the cheerleaders he turned to them and gave Grace, who was standing just behind Kelsey, a wink. Grace’s breath caught in her throat at the brazen display. 

“Awww, isn’t my boyfriend the sweetest y’all!” Kelsey exclaimed, misconstruing the wink as intended for her. Grace felt her shoulders sag in relief. 

As Kelsey finished dismissing everyone, Megan turned to her. 

“Hey, you going to the party tonight?”

“No, I think I’m just gonna stay home.”

“It’s the first of the season you have to go.” Megan was pouting at her as she pulled the strap of her cheerbag across her torso. 

“Oh, is it like a requirement?” Grace teased, lifting her water bottle to her lips. 

“Come on, it’ll be fun” Megan pleaded. Grace briefly looked back in the direction of Kelsey who was talking to Abby and Peyton about how great Daniel played. Having to spend the night avoiding Daniel’s not so secret advances would already be enough to make her think twice about going but the thought of listening to Kelsey babble on all evening as she clung to Daniel’s arm- the thought of actually having to see them be a couple in front of everyone- made Grace feel slightly nauseous.

“Nah, I’m crashing Meg. You have fun, I’m just gonna go home. My mom is expecting me anyway. Something about chick flick night or whatever.” It was a lie, she wasn’t even sure if her mom was home but it got Megan off her back. 

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” They hadn’t actually made any plans for this weekend, but she imagined Megan would call her sometime around noon to go get breakfast at Sawyer’s. 

“See ya.” Megan headed off in the direction of her parents who were waiting for her off to the side. The sight of them hugging her and congratulating her on the first game of the season did something funny and unpleasant to Grace so she looked away. Jo and Zoya’s parents had both shown up as well and Kelsey was heading back to the parking lot with Peyton probably planning to get ready for the party together. 

Grace stood alone for a moment looking out at the bright lights on the field. She should start walking back to her house. She didn’t drive- she took the school bus in the morning- but this late her options were down to walking or taking an uber and considering that Grace wasn’t quite sure what she would be walking into at home, she opted for the longer option. It was only about a mile and a half away after all. 

The late summer evening was filled with the sounds of cicadas, a white noise that could drown out the voices going a mile a minute in Grace’s head. Since yesterday she'd had Daniel's words racing through her brain incessantly. Just what he wanted she was sure: to be able to think of nothing but him. Grace looked up at the sky searching for something else to grasp onto. There was a sort of peace in the star dotted blackness hanging above her and she found herself wanting to wrap herself up in its darkness, fade into the nothingness. She took a deep breath. The smell that greeted her was sweet and promising, as if beckoning her forward into the turn of the season, assuring her of all the new beginnings that she had been searching for this past year. 

A few cars had passed Grace on her walk home but when she felt one coming up behind her and slowing down, her heart raced a little. Sure, the south was plenty hospitable but strange cars pulling over late at night would freak anyone out. The car- no, truck- rolled to a stop beside her.

“Hey Grace, need a ride?” Daniel called out to her from the driver’s seat. She released a relieved sigh at the realization that it was only him but her heartbeat didn’t seem intent on slowing down. 

“No, I’m fine.”

“Come on, I’ll drive you home. It’s not a big deal.”

“Don’t you have a party to prepare for?”

“Party doesn’t start for another half hour. Just get in the car loser.” Grace scoffed at that and glared at him in response to the insulting nickname- _he can be so annoying-_ before looking around her. It was kind of muggy and she was pretty tired . . a ride might be nice. A ride with Daniel? She would never say it in a million years but a part of her wanted to be the girl in his passenger seat. A stupid, small and probably hormonal part of her. 

“Fine, because you offered so nicely” she added with a sarcastic bite. Daniel mimicked her facial expressions in a teasing manner and she rolled her eyes and got around to the other side. Suddenly the engine turned off and Daniel was hopping out of the driver’s side. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Grace asked as he came around to her side. “You’re parked in the middle of the road.”

“Helping you get in.” He opened the door. It should piss her off- no, it did piss her off- but maybe it also made something flutter in her stomach. 

“Who said benevolent sexism was dead?” she deadpanned. Daniel looked like he wanted to say something back but opted to bite down on his lower lip as he took her cheer bag from her and tossed it in the trunk.

“It’s just that the step is high up” he pointed out and he was right. It was a few feet off the ground and Grace might have needed to give it a running start. “Come on, Grace.” Grace looked back at him and decided that her trying to jump up would look more embarrassing than just accepting his help so she took hold of his proffered hand which was warm if not a little sweaty and then grabbed hold of the door and used Daniel and the door as leverage to push herself up onto the step. Daniel’s other hand momentarily hovered at her waist as if preparing to steady her. When she had gotten seated, he shut her door and as he hurried to the other side Grace tried to shake the sensation of his hand in hers. 

When Daniel got into the driver’s seat Grace was looking pointedly through the front window. Her cheeks had warmed, painfully embarrassed by how quickly she accepted his chivalry and the fact that part of her liked it. No one ever tried to take care of her. _Fuck him and his southern gentleman BS._

“Ready?”

“Mhmm” was Grace’s answering reply. She hadn’t forgotten though that she was mad at him and rightfully so and after a few minutes of them driving she finally let it out. 

“I saw that, you know.” He glanced away from the road to look over at her, surprised by the break in silence. 

“Saw what?” 

“I saw you- ” she paused, feeling awkward but pushed through it “I saw your little wink.”

“What wink?” Daniel, now, really was playing dumb. There was a light, teasing note to his voice and it grated at Grace. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about Donald. Kelsey was standing right there.”

“And you're just assuming I was winking at you?” Daniel replied back, still teasing. Grace rolled her eyes; she knew Daniel had been looking at her, he just liked to screw with her head and get under skin and she wasn’t having any of it. 

“I’m not interested in playing part in your sadistic little mind games.”

Daniel looked like he had a retort on the tip of his tongue but he paused and took a moment to mull over her words. For the second time that night he held himself back. Grace was sure she was grateful for it but she couldn’t help wanting to know what it was he refused to say. 

After a long and slightly painful two minutes had passed, Daniel reached over to the center console and started rummaging around, searching for something. A plastic bag crinkled. Grace had been looking out the window, trying her best to ignore his presence but couldn’t help peering out of the corner of her eye to see what he was reaching for. It was the brownies that she had made for him. _No, no- for the team._ It seemed that he hadn’t had any yet and a part of Grace admired how committed he actually was to his sport even if she didn't quite get it herself. She watched him (as discreetly as possible) as he bit into one. 

“Mmmmm. _So fucking good_ ” Daniel muttered as he inhaled the brownie. Grace tucked her smile into her shoulder, pleased at his unknowing compliment to her. She coughed once before saying. 

“I’ll be sure to tell Kelsey.” It was a dumb thing to say really, considering that Kelsey was Daniel’s girlfriend. If he wanted to compliment her on her culinary skills it would be pretty easy to. But her comment felt more like something to fill the silence, to ease the surrounding tension that was making it difficult to breath in that truck. 

Daniel looked over to her, observing her fidgeting and the way she adamantly refused to look at him.

“Right” Daniel said, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Grace glanced briefly at him and caught his eyes before shyly looking back out her window.

The rest of the trip was fairly quiet with Grace and Daniel occasionally stealing glances as she directed him to her house. She tried not to linger on the way his biceps flexed when he turned the wheel but it was upsettingly distracting. 

When Daniel pulled up in front of Grace’s house, she felt a little unsure of herself but before she could find a way to say thank you without actually sounding grateful Daniel was already out of the driver’s seat and making his way over to her side. A brilliant blush colored her cheeks but Grace kept her chin tilted up, trying to remain dignified as Daniel opened the door and offered his hand to her. She reached for it, refusing to look at him, and then gracefully leapt down from the truck. One hand in his and one hand curled around the door handle. When she landed on the asphalt, her gaze was drawn up to his and for a moment they lingered. Hand in hand, warm brown eyes locked into swirling blue ones. But then Daniel cleared his throat as he pulled away and grabbed her bag out of the bed of his truck. 

“Thank you” Grace muttered softly as she took her bag from him, wishing she didn’t sound quite so small. Daniel nodded, a hand reaching up to rub nervously at the back of his neck. At least he seemed as awkward as she did. 

“Do you want me to walk you to-”

“No, no, that’s fine” Grace said quickly. Daniel walking her up to front door felt way too ‘first date’ for her liking. Not to mention if both her parents were home then he’d definitely be able to hear the yelling from outside the front door and that thought made her anxiety skyrocket. 

“Okay, well, goodnight Grace” Daniel said. 

“Goodnight” Grace replied as she made off to her front door. She could hear Daniel getting back into the driver’s seat behind her and when the engine turned back on she suddenly felt herself turning back around. 

“Hey Daniel” he looked up at her with an open, waiting expression, “you um- you played really well tonight.” Grace wasn’t even sure what compelled her to say it. He was sure to hear the same thing a hundred more times in a hundred better ways and from far more qualified individuals and yet . . .

Daniel’s expression softened impossibly and his eyes shined with something she had never seen before, a look she hadn’t thought him capable of and had never herself been on the receiving end of. 

He looked at her with, well, with what could only be called, plain and simply, _adoration._

“Thanks Grace.” And with that Grace turned back to her house, her heart beating a little faster, biting back a smile. 

When Grace opened the door, she heard the television and looked into the living room to see the back of her mother’s head coming up from behind the couch. Her mother looked back at her as she softly shut the door behind her.

“Where were you?” 

“Tonight was the first game of the season.” Her mother took in her ensemble and gave a curt nod before lifting her large glass of red up to her lips. 

“Don’t you think you should do something else? Something a little more intellectual” her mom suggested even though she had now turned back to the TV and didn’t seem like she was even particularly interested in the conversation anyway. “I mean you should think about your future. With that shit father of yours out of a job you’re really gonna need to try for scholarships. Money doesn’t just grow on trees.” Grace could tell that it was at least her mother’s third glass just by the way she was rambling. “You should go out for the newspaper or debate club or something.” 

Grace knew when her mother got like this there was no use in arguing with her so she just muttered ‘okay’ before heading off to her room. The exhaustion had settled deeply in her bones and her excitement and giddiness from tonight had disappeared just about as soon as she walked in the door. If there was one thing her mother was a true talent at it was making her daughter feel like crap. Grace ran a tired hand over her face as she opened her bedroom door and dropped her stuff on the ground. 

Despite how depleted she now felt she forced herself to take a shower and change into a tank top and pajama shorts before crawling into bed. She reached up to turn the light off but just as she did her phone on the nightstand pinged. She picked it up. It was a text from Daniel.

_brownies were delicious. thanks ;)_

Grace put her phone down and turned her lamp light off. 

A small smile was still playing on her lips when she finally drifted off to sleep. 


End file.
